Pokemon Divine Legacy Book 1: Red Rising
by Maximus Prime 802
Summary: Five years after the events of the original series, a fallen hero rises from the depths of legend with the help of Ash and his friends to battle and old enemy and find his way back into the light
1. Prologue

Three years he travelled the world, three years he searched, three years with nothing.

He had been to every Team Galactic base he could find and there was nothing there, they had been abandoned for quite some time. He had been sailing across the vast spans of sea for three weeks and was running out of resources.

As he pulled on the ores in his long boat, he paused and took some time to cross out a circle on a map of the Pokémon nation, one that had dozens of circles all over them and just as many X's through them. There was only one circle left on the map, but this place he hoped he wouldn't have to go back to ever. He looked up and stared at the Pikachu sitting across from him in the boat. The Electric type Pokémon looked at him knowing where their final search had to be but also knowing that they had to go.

"I know we have no choice" He said to his small friend, a tone that was playful yet slightly annoyed. "But if she finds me, she'll kill me." He said to himself almost worried about going there. The map pointed to the Sinnoh region. The place that he was terrified of going back to, not because of any Pokémon there, but because of a mistake he made that he may never be forgiven for.

"Then again, it was six years ago, maybe she'll be ready to forgive me when I get back." The trench coat wearing figure said to his companion.

The Pikachu before him merely giggled at the thought of her forgiving him before nestling down to nap. His human ally removed his black cape and placed it gently over top of the electric mouse before resuming the rhythmic movement of the ores across the vast ocean. One thing was certain to him as he rowed, her forgiveness was not important, his mission was.

"They will be avenged, no matter the cost" He said to himself as the sun began to set over the horizon.


	2. Chapter 1

The sun rose high over Canalave City, from the balcony of her hotel room, a young girl with dark blue hair stared out over the cityscape enjoying the sights and the sounds of the people enjoying their everyday lives. But she was filled with an even greater joy because of something even greater to come.

"Hey Dawn, have you finished packing up yet." Her red ball cap wearing compatriot Ash called to her from the room.

"She hasn't even gotten started." Misty explained to Ash. Misty stepped out onto the balcony and continued speaking, "You know, you're the most eager to get back to Twinleaf Town, and yet you're the only one who's still in your pajamas."

A wave of embarrassment crashed over Dawn, "Sorry, I'll get started right now." As fast as she could, she raced grabbed several articles of clothing and raced into the bathroom, but not before kicking Brock (the Pokémon Breeder) out. The Rock Type Pokémon doctor scrambled to keep his towel on, as he barely stepped out of the shower before he was evicted from the bathroom.

"I've never seen her so enthusiastic about anything before." Brock mentioned to his friends.

"Well, her fourteenth birthday is coming up and her mom has a huge celebration planned for her." The fifth Pokémon trainer, May, explained as she was returning to the room.

"Where were you? We thought you had fallen off the balcony again." Misty stated, with a concerned tone. She remembered the last time that happened, to Ash and Brock it was hilarious but to Misty and Dawn it was terrifying.

"It's eight thirty in the morning I was getting breakfast, and I wasn't the only one." May stepped aside as Ash's Corpfish, Dawn's Buneary and her own Skitty and Glaceon returned to the room. Seeing their Pokémon, Ash and Misty called them back to their PokéBalls. As they finished speaking Dawn jumped out of the bathroom fully dressed and began to sprint around the room picking up her belongings and stuffing them into her conveniently sized bag. After thirty seconds of running around she was finished, however, something was missing. When Dawn figured it out she ran to the mirror.

The young girl jumped back from the mirror when she saw it had for her to see "Where's my hat! We cannot leave this hotel until we find my hat!" the other four trainers and Ash's Pikachu sighed and got down on their hands and knees to search. After ten minutes of looking Dawn's Piplup emerged from under one of the four beds holding in his beak a white hat and handed it to Dawn.

"It must've fallen off my head while I was sleeping and rolled under the bed." Dawn theorized.

"Wait a minute, how does a hat roll under a bed." Ash questioned.

"At least you guys got a bed, I had to sleep in the bath tub, how did that happen again?' Brock asked.

"You drew the smallest straw." May answered in a joking matter.

"Ok, no more talking, let's get to the desk and let's check out so we can get home." Before she finished talking Dawn was already out the door.

"She needs to calm down, we've got plenty of time, by the time we get to Twinleaf it'll still be five days before her actual birthday." Misty explained. Knowing Dawn's relentless energy, the other four rushed to get to the elevator and meet up with her.

"I just hope nothing keeps her from her birthday." Ash said "Otherwise, heads will roll."


	3. Chapter 2

Down at the Canalave docks a small long boat was pulling into the port. Doing his best to remain unseen, the lone passenger aboard managed to squeeze it between to ferries. Once it was secure, the passenger pulled on his black cape and climbed onto the board walk.

The lone figure silently left the docks and got aboard the streets, but not before he pulled the hood attached to his cape over his head. He constantly moved his eyes searching for any signs of suspicious activity. One thing got his eye, two Team Galactic Grunts standing in front of a building talking. Grunts were never sent to random cities without good reason. And Canalave City has nothing to offer their leader. There could only be one other thing that they were here for.

"They must've known I was coming." He said to himself.

Slowly and stealthy he walked around them trying his best not to be noticed. They could've easily told him where their leader was hiding, but he believed it would be better for him to remain hidden and investigate the only remaining Galactic Base before he engages any Grunts. But that didn't protect him from the wandering eye of one of the Grunts who identified him by his unique walk. The walk of a man filled with dread and rage.

"It's him, the one she wants!" Both the Grunts reached for their PokéBalls and opened them, releasing two Golbats. This didn't intimidate the mysterious figure one bit as he grabbed a PokéBall from inside off his belt and opened it to reveal one powerful looking Snorlax. The husky Normal Type Pokémon made the first move, lunging into the air at the two Golbats, preparing to start a powerful struggle.

Meanwhile at the Canalave City hotel, Ash and his friends had just stepped out and Dawn was eager to get on the road. "If we hurry we can beat the morning traffic back to Twinleaf Town, so let's get moving." Dawn stated.

"Uh Dawn, we walked to Canalave remember?" May answered rolling her eyes at the same time.

"It doesn't hurt to be proactive May." Dawn remarked smiling. Her enthusiasm was starting to get to all four of them and even Piplup. Ash was hoping that something would happen that would lower her excitement just the least bit. Unfortunately, that wish was about to come true.

Something falling from the sky caught Ash's attention; the problem was that it wasn't slowing down. It seemed to actually be moving quicker as it got closer to them.

"Everyone look out!" Ash shouted pointing to the falling object.

The five of them just managed to move when it landed right on the steps of the hotel, colliding with them with enough force that it split the concrete steps. When the smoke cleared Brock took a look to see what it was. It was a Golbat; the Pokémon looked injured from a battle.

"It looks like it was attacked by a living volcano." Brock explained.

"What could've attacked it with that much power?" Misty asked. Her answer came in the form of a second Golbat smashing right into the street light right next to them this one appeared in just as bad a condition as the other one. The two Golbats were then called back to their PokéBalls by two Galactic Grunts who then ran as fast as they could, paying no mind to what was around them.

The five trainers looked to see what scared them away, it was a Snorlax, standing boldly in the middle of the streets, its white hands curled into intimidating fists as it watched the two Grunts race off down the streets. The Snorlax knew, they would not fight him again.

The victorious Snorlax was called back into his PokéBall by a cape wearing figure standing not that far behind it. The mystery person looked up at the trainers staring in awe at him. He would've walked away had one of them not caught his attention. Slowly, the mystery figure approached them, hoping that his suspicions to her identity were true.

"Dawn?" He asked in his belief. She may've been older but he had no trouble figuring out who she was.

"Who are you?" she asked back moving her way past her friends to get a better look at him.

The mystery trainer then pulled up his hood covering his face so that she could she just who he was. May was the most puzzled, she was expecting to see a man in his mid thirties but instead he was just around seventeen and had red eyes. His hood was concealing the fact that he had spiked black hair. None of them had any idea who he was, but Dawn knew immediately.

"Red?" Dawn asked in disbelief. She was astounded to see him again for the first time in years.

"Wait did you say Red?" Ash asked Dawn with joyous surprise, "As in the Ultimate Pokémon Master!"

"Correct." Red answered.

Every Pokémon Trainer in the world had heard of Red, the most powerful Trainer in the world, champion of the Kanto Region and leader of the Pokédex Keepers. The Pokédex Keepers were extremely powerful Trainers selected by the Pokémon League to hold an advanced form of a Pokédex, called an Alphadex. They stayed together and most commonly waged a silent war against Team Rocket. There have even been stories saying that the Pokédex Keepers founded the Trainer rite of passage.

They were expecting Dawn to shriek with joy and hug him as she did with so many others that she was reunited with from her past. But what happened next none of them saw coming as Dawn let out a small battle cry and punched him square in the side of his jaw causing him to fall to the ground from the sheer force of the impact.

"What was that about Dawn?!" Misty asked in disbelief. None of them would've expected her to attack anyone like that, even Piplup was surprised. Pikachu immediately jumped off Ash's shoulder and ran over to help this mysterious Red person get to his feet.

"How could you do that to him?" Ash asked in anger.

"Well, it's a better welcome than ones I've received in the past." Red said, staggering to get back to his feet.

"You have a lot of nerve to show your face to me after what you did!" Dawn yelled back. She tried to lunge for him only to be stopped by her Pachirisu and Piplup who were pulling back on her ankles.

"Jeez, what did he do that was so bad? Did he cook your pet goldfish or something?" Ash asked half jokingly.

Dawn looked back at her friend with a look of complete rage. The young coordinator's eyes seemed to glow red with fury, and before she remarked to Ash's comment, she first let out a roar that seemed very similar to a Tyrannosaurus Rex. "You want to know what he did Ash. I'll tell you what he did!" She said.

"We can get into this later." Red interrupted, he seemed rushed by something as he continued to speak, "But right now you guys should leave, it's about to get ugly."

Brock was puzzled, he knew what was coming but he was confused as to what this new trainer did that would cause Team Galactic to hate him. "What do you mean?" The doctor asked.

Before he could finish his sentence, they were surrounded up to twenty Team Galactic Grunts. The six each grabbed a PokéBall and readied for battle but they were stopped when each Grunt held out two PokéBalls. Outnumbered and outgunned the six of them were forced to back down. Two of the Grunts moved out of the way to allow a girl into the centre of the circle.

She seemed young, not as young as Ash, May and Misty (who were fourteen) she was wearing a black and white Galactic uniform, but it was her blood red hair that made her stand out to Red.

"Mars." Red stated. Not fond whatsoever to be seeing her again.

"Well, if it isn't the great Pokémon Master." Mars replied as she moved closer to him.

"I'm going after Sird, you have half a second to get out of my way." Red responded.

"Remove him of his items." Mars commanded to the troops.

Five Grunts lowered their PokéBalls and advanced forward. They removed his cape revealing that Red was wearing a black T-shirt with jeans and black and red shoes. But what was more interesting was that he had a pistol strapped to his side, no real Pokémon Trainer would ever carry a weapon. Dawn was too busy upset by his return to be surprised by anything. Mars stepped forward and first removed the pistol and examined it.

"Only one shot and that's the one in the chamber." She then dropped the pistol, "Now what's the point of carrying a useless weapon like that?"

Red refused to say anything to Mars; to him she didn't deserve to know. Ash grew more and more furious as he watched the Grunts humiliate the greatest Pokémon Trainer in the universe like this. Every fiber of his being told him to grab a PokéBall and attack. But he knew that doing so could endanger the others, especially Misty.

Mars did not waste any time in removing the PokéBalls from his belt, putting them in a brief case and handing it to a female Grunt.

"Sird will still be pleased to see her most hated foe, in her custody." Mars boasted triumphantly.

"What should we do about these five?" A Grunt asked Mars. Mars recognized them immediately. They were the ones who interfered with their plans to siphon the power of Dialga and Palkia, back when Cyrus was in command of Team Galactic. Her heart filled with rage upon seeing these Trainers again, but now that they were her prisoners, she would avenge her fallen master. The commander grabbed a PokéBall off her belt and answered.

"I'll have my Bronzor use Hypnosis and wipe their memories clean of what happened." Mars assured, " Better yet, their entire lives, then they will be no threat to us at all."

As she left the circle, the Grunt holding the Brief Case spoke up, "Commander Mars, one of these PokéBalls, is empty." She stated.

Just as she finished speaking, something jumped off the roof of the hotel and landed perfectly in the middle of the circle, the shock wave from the impact caused the Grunts and the five trainers to fall to the ground. The creature revealed itself to be an Ivysaur. The Grass Type sent to vines from the plant on its back, one wrapped around Mars' legs and the other bound her arms to her waist. She then found herself being lifted into the air by the strength of the Vine Whip.

Team Galactic's agents prepared to grab the PokéBalls off their belt and defend their commander. The Ivysaur acted quickly, using Bullet Seed to knock the PokéBalls off their belts and rendering them helpless.

"You think I didn't have a backup plan." Red reminded his foe. The champion trainer then looked up at the Grunts who were defenseless.

"I'll be taking my items back and these cuffs will be removed." Red commanded. Reluctantly the Grunts moved in, the first one removing his hand cuffs and another handed him his pistol and the brief case containing his Pokémon. One by one Red placed the PokéBalls back on his belt, dropped the brief case to the ground and crushed it under his foot. This was something else that surprised Ash.

"How can he threaten someone's life, even a Galactic stooge like her?" Ash asked the others, not afraid to express his contempt.

"By the way, you miscounted; there are two that are empty." The controversial Trainer added as he slowly stepped back. The Grunts looked at their commander who looked back at her soldiers with an extremely furious expression on her face. Misty was the only one of her friends who noticed that Mars didn't appear hurt in any way. That was when she realized he was bluffing and didn't plan to hurt Mars.

"Tell your leader, I'm coming for her." Red said, just as he finished speaking, a Charizard flew out of the glare of the sun breathing fire in front of Red and his Ivysaur, creating a barrier. The Ivysaur released Mars from its hold and returned to its PokéBall. Meanwhile the Charizard flew down to the ground and Red climbed onto his back.

"I told you things were going to get rough." Red said to the five trainers just before his Charizard took to the sky, followed by a dozen Golbats and Galactic Grunts running on the sidewalk. As the Grunts followed him, Mars started running in the opposite direction, intent on returning to Team Galactic's new base.

The five trainers looked up at the sky with awe; at first they presumed Red to be no better than Team Galactic, but now they saw him as a brilliant strategist. May was very much attracted to him whom Dawn did not seem pleased about.

"Don't go gaga over him May, he's evil in a cape." She yelled at her female companion.

"He's leading them into town, we've got to follow him he may need our help." Ash said. Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder as a sign of agreement.

"I say we let those Golbats take him back to Siri or whoever he said she was." Dawn answered, standing firmly in place showing no sign of any plans to move. Her friends were shocked, they had never seen Dawn act so cruel before, it was obvious that she honestly hated Red for some reason.

"Red's appearance seemed very interesting to Mars and you know that can't be a good thing, we have to go." Brock responded obviously very serious. With no other options Dawn was forced to go with them as the five of them ran after the swarm of Golbats.

May and Dawn were running at the same pace and so May decided to take this as an opportunity, "Hey Dawn ,Why do you hate Red so much? He doesn't seem like a bad guy."

Dawn sighed as she had to answer her friend, but she didn't want to reveal the truth so she decided to make it short, "Let's just say that the next time you make a promise to somebody, you had better keep it."


	4. Chapter 3

Mars entered the Galactic Base slowly, it was bad enough to return to Sird being defeated by a Pokémon Trainer, but if she was to learn that she was defeated by Red, then heads will roll.

When she began to walk down the halls, she released her Purugly and her Bronzor from their PokéBalls and sent them to the training centre. The further down the halls she went, to Sird' office, the more and more terror overwhelmed her.

As Mars went down the halls, several galactic Grunts just stared at her; they seemed to be smiling as if they knew that Sird was going to feed her to a Red Gyarados. But how could they've known that she failed Sird like this? This mission was meant to be incognito, only Sird and the other three commanders knew about it. Her answer came to her when she passed by fellow Galactic Commander Jupiter.

The purple haired female officer just smiled and said to Mars as the latter passed by, "Weren't you supposed to come back with something?" Mars halted her walk of shame, just to fire an arrow at Jupiter. The arrow just missed her head, but that didn't faze Jupiter. There was a note attached to the arrow, Jupiter removed it and read it, it said "Shut Up".

Mars then glanced around at the other Grunts who were now staring at her in horror. Reasserting her command Mars then barked at them in a very powerful and authoritative tone, "What're all of you looking at? Get back to work!" she commanded.

The red haired Galactic senior officer then proceeded down the hall until she stopped in front of two large doors that said on the sign next to them: Commander Sird's Office. Slowly, she entered the office and looked forward to see Sird sitting at her desk with her Banette standing next to her desk. The Galactic dictator was glancing forward at her, knowing just what she was about to say.

"It's never good when my commanders report to my office alone, is it?" Sird said coldly.

"Commander Sird, I failed. Red beat me and the troops who accompanied me, and now five Pokémon Trainers know of our return." Mars answered. Sird did not say a word; this only made Mars the more horrified. The last time this happened it was to Saturn and he was forced to hunt for land mines with Metagross. As Sird began to speak, Mars prepared for the worst.

"Excellent." Sird said. Mars was confused but grateful she wasn't being strung up from the top of Stark Mountain. "Then my old foe is in the Sinnoh Region now." He continued.

"I don't understand." Mars responded.

"Red knows about our plan, so we're going to let him come to us." Sird answered. "Summon all the troops back to base." Sird commanded Mars. Without saying a word, Mars ran out of her leader's office to complete her task.

Sird activated the video communicator on her computer to contact Saturn, who was in the Hoenn Region, scouting for new recruits. Within seconds of contacting her most trusted lieutenant, he answered.

"What is your command, Commander Sird?" The blue haired commander asked his superior officer.

"Take your squadron and bring them to Mt. Coronet to form a perimeter at the base, no one is permitted to enter until we arrive, understand?" Sird commanded.

"Yes ma'am." Saturn acknowledged. Sird then turned off the communicator feed. She then stood up out of her seat and walked to the window.

"I shall fulfill your destiny Cyrus, and make the human world pay." Sird said before maniacally chuckling to herself.


	5. Chapter 4

Ash and is friends had made it down five city blocks before they lost Red. There were no Golbats and there was no sign that he was there at all. The five of them took this as an opportunity to rest from the excess running they endured.

"We had to run across five city blocks and all for nothing." Misty panted as she sat down on the street bench.

"How could a Charizard carrying someone of his size move that fast?" Brock thought out loud as he collapsed to the sidewalk in exhaustion.

"Are you saying I'm fat?" a voice called out to them. The five of them looked up to see Red standing on a street light. The Trainer jumped down and stood in front of them. He looked at each of them and immediately he knew that they were very experienced in Pokémon battles. But he knew that none of them were ready for this battle.

"Thank you for helping me today, but now I'll be on my way." With that, the king of Trainers turned and began to walk away when he was stopped by Ash.

"Hold on Red, is it true that you're the most powerful Trainer of them all." The trainer said to him.

"That was a long time ago." Red commented silently and sorrowfully.

"Can I see your Pokémon?" Ash asked, "I'll bet they're still as powerful as they ever were."

Pikachu thought it would be fun to pretend to beg and so, got onto his knees and started false pleading. Misty just thought they were both acting like idiots, but did her best not to tell Ash, she knew how amazing this was to him.

"Fine." Red answered.

Red stepped out into the middle of the street, pulled all the PokéBalls off his belt and opened them up revealing his six Pokémon; Charizard, Pikachu, Ivysaur, Squirtle, Lapras and Snorlax.

"Meet my team, and my friends" Red greeted.

Ash was excited to see another Charizard, (This one nicknamed Chars) but to see one as large as Red's was almost unheard of. He was easily ten feet tall, much larger than the average seven feet that a Charizard normally stands. For a Charizard to grow this large is a sign that it has been well taken care of by its Trainer. But one thing about Chars that really stood out to Ash was the peculiar blue stone with an odd swirl in the centre that was attached to a necklace that Chars was wearing.

"Is this?" Ash prepared to ask as he pointed to the stone.

"A fail safe" Red explained as he pointed to a small green stone on his bracelet with a similar swirl on it.

Pikachu was quick to greet himself to Red's Pikachu, Pika. It was clear to Ash's best friend that Pika had been through several tough battles, judging by the scar under Pika's left eye. Despite his appearance, Pika proved to be quite a friendly Pokémon as he held out his tail for Pikachu to touch. Pikachu was quickly to oblige, as both Pokémon touched their electric tails, sparks flew everywhere.

Piplup immediately became jealous of the relationship Pika and Pikachu already had and wanted to greet Pika in the same way. The proud penguin Pokémon held out his tail for Pika to make contact with. Without a second's hesitation, Pika touched his tail to Piplup's and sent electricity through it, giving Piplup quite the electric shock. Pikachu could tell by Pika's expression that he knew what would happen but did it anyway.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I must leave." Red then pulled the cowl back over his face and turned to leave.

Dawn was finally grateful to see him go, but her optimism was halted by Brock this time.

"Wait a minute Red" Brock called out as the Pokémon Master turned around. "Mars was after your Pokémon, so it may not be safe for you to use them in battle, let us help you."

"Yeah! Let us help you!" Ash pleaded, both excited and determined.

"My Pokémon are not what Team Galactic is after." Red protested, "Mars only took them to ensure that I couldn't fight back."

"If your Pokémon aren't what Sird's after, then what is?" May asked.

Red almost regretted to answer, but he had to, "Something else, something worse. This city will be teaming with Galactic servants soon, we have to get moving."

Ash was excited to hear Red say 'We'. He hadn't been on an adventure in years and hearing Red say that one word was just what he needed to hear. It was even more exciting to Ash that the trainer who inspired him to be a Pokémon trainer included him.

"So, we can come with you?" Misty asked, just as excited as Ash to potentially be on another adventure.

"As long as you don't slow me down." The Pokémon Master responded in a cold tone.

"Where should we head?" Ash asked boldly and heroically as he walked up beside him.

"There's only one person I can trust, I just hope we can find her." Red answered as he began walking. When Red said 'Her' Brock jumped off his seat with joy.

"If it's a 'her' we're looking after then I'm in." He said to himself as he joined up with Ash and Red who were already walking away. Misty and May were right behind Red, with May staring at him with hearts in her eyes as she was literally floating in mid air.

This was Dawn's worst nightmare, her best friends were worshipping the one person she hated as though he was a deity and if there really was an adventure in the loom, then there was an almost certain chance that they would miss her fourteenth birthday party at her hometown. Stuck between explaining to her mother why her friends were not with her when she returned home and missing her party but at the same time possibly saving the world, she chose the second choice and began to run after her friends.


	6. Chapter 5

They were only an hour out of Canalave City before Red told them that they must leave the road and start taking a faster route through the nearby forests. He was mostly silent, not saying anything about where they were going or who they were going to meet.

They still kept conversation, mainly by Ash telling Red about his many exploits. Red found these his adventures to be very exciting and entertaining. After Ash finished telling the story about how he defeated Giovanni in a Pokémon battle, Red said to him, "I'm glad there're people like you around to prove what I've been saying for years, you anyone can be a hero."

Dawn remained mainly silent, she was thinking about the horrifying idea of missing her birthday party, she had just spoken with her mother, Johanna, yesterday and she said she was preparing a huge birthday blowout just for her daughter. Dawn was afraid of the all too real concept of missing it, all her mother's hard work will have been for nothing. She could just imagine the disheartened expression on her mother's face when she saw the guest of honor; her own child would be a no show.

But Dawn knew that if Team Galactic was involved in this, it would be very dangerous and they would need every one of them for this battle. The only thing that would give her reason not to go with them was the fact that Red was leading them. He disappears for six years and now that he comes back he immediately turns her little gang of friends into a cult under his 'guidance'. This was something she would not tolerate. She wanted to tell her friends why she hated him, but she just couldn't find the right time to tell them. But she vowed that when they were finished combating Team Galactic, Red would leave the five of them alone forever.

The team kept going through the forest; Red took point, using a hunting knife to slice through dense vegetation that was in their way, but at the same time, being careful not to leave a trail for anyone to follow them. May released her Beautifly from its PokéBall several times to scout ahead for clearings so the team could rest.

"There's one thing that on my mind Red, and I'm sure it's on everyone's mind." Misty said to their 'leader'.

"Not mine!" Dawn shouted from the rear.

"What's that?" Red asked the retired Gym Leader, as he ignored Dawn's comment.

"Who's Sird?" Misty asked.

"No one knows who she is" Red began, "Sird first surfaced some time after Cyrus disappeared into Mt. Coronet and the subordinate commanders were imprisoned. She let them out in exchange for leadership of Team Galactic, of course they accepted. She believes humanity is corrupt as long as they are divided and believes that nations should unite under one ruler."

"Of course she's thinking herself" Ash commented.

"Humanity can either serve under her, or go extinct." Red ended.

Nighttime fell, Beautifly returned and guided the six of them to a clearing to rest. The clearing was very spacious, large enough for all six trainers and their Pokémon to rest. Red was about to tell them to rest for an hour, but when he glanced at the others he could tell that they were exhausted from travelling. If they were to combat Sird, then they would have to be at the top of their game.

"We'll rest here for the night, but tomorrow we must be ready to move early." Red said. No one objected all the Trainers released the Pokémon form their PokéBalls so that they could rest. The five of them each set up their own tents, except for Red, who was laying out his cape to sleep on, when Ash stopped him.

"You can sleep in my tent for tonight if you're interested." Ash commented.

"No Red, you can share one with me." May called out to him, wearing a night slip in a futile attempt to seduce the King of the Trainers. Dawn saw this and was not willing to trust Red in a tent with one of her friends.

"I say we let him sleep on the wet grass." Dawn taunted from her open tent flap.

Red picked up his cape, ignoring Dawn's words as he approached Ash's tent. Before he entered he thanked Ash and then proceeded into the tent.

That night was peaceful, while the trainers slept in tents many of the Pokémon slept together on warm blankets huddled together Pikachu, Piplup and Pika were an exception as they were in the same tent as their trainers were. Misty's Gyarados and Brock's Onix had formed a defensive barrier around the tents and the sleeping Pokémon with their massive resting bodies. Snorlax's enormous belly was a perfect sleeping place for Pachirisu, Skitty and Buneary.

There was not a problem in the world except for the feeling of anger that overwhelmed Red's emotions. Sird had gotten away with too many crimes and she finally had to answer for what she did.

"And I won't stop until she does." Red whispered to himself.


	7. Chapter 6

Three days of travelling had passed by; the coalition of six trainers had been travelling without stop. Their only breaks were to eat and rest their feet, even then, Red would only allow a rest for ten minutes at most before they began to move again. During that time, he refused to say where they were going or what Team Galactic's plan was. His reasoning was that if one of them were captured by Galactic spies, then they would not be able to give any information during an interrogation, but Dawn and Misty began to grow suspicious.

As they travelled, Dawn, who was normally the most cheerful and energetic of the group, had become exceedingly bitter and cold. She refused to speak at all during their travel and she refused to accept help from anyone, especially Red. Eventually Dawn just couldn't keep her anger pent up inside her anymore, and she had to let it out.

"I can't take it anymore!" Dawn screamed as loud as she could as she stormed toward Red. Dawn stood in front of Red, revealing just how short she was compared to him, (Not just Red, Dawn was very short as it was) but that did not deter her anger whatsoever.

"We've been travelling for miles without a decent rest and you refuse to tell us where we're going or what Sird wants! You were always so full of yourself, that's why we always got into trouble!" She continued.

"Got into trouble?" Misty asked in disbelief. For as long as she knew Dawn she was always enthusiastic and good willed. To hear that she used to be a troublemaker was news to her, but it was entertaining news. "This ought to be good." She continued smiling.

Red understood why she was mad at him for keeping secrets, but screeching at him because of their past shenanigans was going too far.

"How were those events my entire fault? You were the one who came up with half those ideas as I recall." He responded.

"I never came up any of those little schemes, you little creature!" Dawn stood against Red's comments with great force. But Red was quick to respond to her comment.

"What about the time we filled the local high school's lucky football with helium just before the big game, and when the quarterback kicked the ball into the air it just kept going higher and higher." Dawn blushed as she remembered that day very well. She was six years old at that time, and when she and Red were caught, they had to find the football and put proper air in it. Fortunately they did find the ball, in the nest of a Staraptor.

Ash, Misty and Brock just sat down on a fallen log to listen to their argument. Pikachu reached into Ash's bag and pulled out a bag of popcorn before he sat down on the log. Dawn looked at the four of them, desperate not to be embarrassed in front of her friends; she quickly reacted to Red's insult.

"Don't blame me for that one!" She answered. "What about the time we lit fireworks in your room? That was your idea and because of you, we weren't allowed to go to the beach on the long weekend."

Red's experience from thousands of Pokémon Battles left him quick on his feet for situations as intense as these.

"As I recall, you were the one who stole your mother's blowtorch for the occasion, while I was the one who said it would be safer to use matches. You were always so overly enthusiastic about our pranks, like the time we switched the labels on all the fruit trees during your Preschool field trip, while I was volunteering."

Dawn rolled her eyes at the thought of that one; it had the most disastrous consequences. "I remember that one all too well, and then Kenny ate a fruit he was allergic to and his head swelled up like a Drifloon! Your mom was furious; I almost got kicked out of school for that one!"

Red's anger quickly subsided to sympathy. During that prank, he was not the one who risked getting into serious trouble, it was her who could've lost everything. He realized why his old friend was so upset and tried being more calm because of it.

"We were kids; we just wanted to have fun, we didn't know any better."

Dawn was not so sympathetic, these flashes to her past helped her remember the reason she hated Red. "You should've known better though, than to leave me when you made a promise." She said with tears in her eyes.

Dawn's words caused Ash to jump off his seat, "Left you what do you mean by that?' He asked her as he walked up to her. Dawn looked up at Red who gave her a nod of approval.

"I'll tell you what I mean, and why I hate Red more than Team Rocket. Back in Twinleaf Town he and I were friends from the neighborhood. I was younger, but he and I would do virtually everything together no matter what. Red's tenth birthday came around and what he wanted most was to become a Pokémon Trainer. I was too young to travel, so he made a promise to me. He said that he would wait until the after my tenth birthday to leave so that the two of us can be together. Well the day after his eleventh birthday, he disappears. I have no idea where he is so I'm in a panic, I ask his mom where he is and she tells me he left with the family Poliwhirl to become a Pokémon Trainer. I wanted to follow him, but it turned out that he went to the Kanto Region. A promise made is not a promise kept apparently to him."

The others looked at Red with great disgust, they believed he was a great hero but now they saw him as nothing but a liar and a fraud. After six years Red finally knew that what he did was wrong.

"There's nothing I can say that can justify what I did. I should never have lied to you like that Dawn, I'm sorry." Red answered, he then looked at the others and began to speak.

"I understand if you guys want to leave now, after learning what I did." Red said. After a long pause, Brock was the first to step forward.

"You made a mistake, that's what happens you make strong decisions, at least you're sorry about it." The doctor answered.

"Besides Sird still has her master plan and we've got to stop her, and you're the only one who can lead us." Ash said as he stepped forward. Misty said nothing but stepped forward anyway. Red felt g joy in what he had seen, the first sign of happiness her had seen in three years. But before he could say anything May came running towards them. Once she saw them she stopped and was gasping for breath.

"I hate running, especially on an empty stomach." She said. Once she caught her breath she began to speak. "Celestic Town is just up ahead, maybe a quarter of a mile."

Red stepped forward and responded to her. "We're there."


	8. Chapter 7

The six of them slowly entered Celestic Town, Red for once had nothing to fear, and he knew Sird would never send her Grunts here. In the feeling of joy, Red released all of his Pokémon and let them stretch their legs to move. The others quickly did the same, but they still had an unfinished question.

"Who are we supposed to be meeting here?" Brock asked.

"Her." Red answered pointing forward at none other than Sinnoh League Champion Cynthia. She was standing a few feet away from them beside her powerful Garchomp. Cynthia herself walked up to Red and his friends ready to greet them.

"It's been a while Red, three years." She said as she shook his hands. Yet something else Ash and the others were surprised about.

"Cynthia took some time to teach me about raising Pokémon." Red explained.

"It was only for a few months then I had to return home to protect my title as champion." Cynthia added. "So what brings you to my hometown today Red?" She asked.

"We're facing a crisis; Sird is planning something far worse than we ever would've thought." Red answered.

"We'll continue this conversation at my home." Cynthia responded. With that she began to walk back home, with the six young heroes following her.

Later on in Cynthia's house, Red pulled a folded piece of paper out from a pocket in his pants. Without saying a word, he unfolded it to reveal it to be the blueprints for some sort of titanic airship of very complex build. He then laid the blueprints down on a table so that everyone could see them.

"These are a copy of blueprints for an aircraft of unique design and purpose. It can siphon the powers of any Pokémon that get caught in this cage." Red explained as he pointed to a unique spot on the front of the airship.

"It was designed by a physicist to explore a world parallel to ours, but when he discovered that the device would kill the intended Pokémon, he destroyed the blueprints. Somehow Sird managed to get her hands on one remaining specimen. Chars stole these from a Team Galactic base unnoticed." Red pointed out the window to show Chars flying around outside with Pikachu and Piplup on his back.

"There's no doubt that Sird is going to use these to siphon the power from some very powerful Pokémon." Cynthia responded, "But which one?"

"I don't know, fortunately, the design is so complex that it'll take them quite some time to build it."Red finished.

"So the plan is to destroy it before it can ever be used?" May asked, her voice trembling with fear.

"That's been my plan for three years, I couldn't find the base they were building it in, and trust me I'd know if they were finished." Red explained. "There's still one Base I haven't looked in yet, a Galactic Base ten clicks north of Mt. Coronet." Red then pulled a map out of another pocket revealing dozens of circles in it with X's through them except for in one location.

"That's obviously the one they were building the airship in." Misty put into the conversation.

All of them took a look at the map seeing all the places Red went to. But they also saw more than just a series of circles and X's they saw Red's determination.

"It's not that far from here, you guys can rest here for the night and in the morning we'll storm the base and destroy the ship." Cynthia concluded. She looked up at Red, pointing at him she said in a joking manner, "I recommend you shower."

Red smiled and said, "You try getting clean using sea water."

After his quick joke, the Pokémon Master then proceeded into Cynthia's shower leaving the others in the main room.

"Sheesh did you see all the circles, he must really hate Sird." May said as she began to chuckle, soon all of them except for Cynthia were laughing, she was shocked by this.

"He didn't tell you what happened?" She asked in alarm. The others quickly stopped laughing just as Chars, Pikachu and Piplup returned inside.

"What happened?" Brock asked, speaking for everyone as they were all curious to know what happened.

"There was a mission I helped him on, was one against Team Galactic, their plans to use Regigigas to rip the continents apart and recreate them as their new leader saw fit."

"Let me guess, their new leader was Sird" Dawn inferred, Cynthia nodded in agreement before continuing.

"When we got there, we attacked the base, freed Regigigas and destroyed the base in the process. Sird vowed to exact her revenge against Red for what he did. Eventually she would." Cynthia explained.

"Well that was quite the little story in which you revealed absolutely nothing about what really happened." Dawn answered.

Cynthia continued, "Red told me about this a year ago. Three years ago, Team Galactic was sighted on Cinnabar Island. Red and his friends followed them and tried to stop them. His hatred got the better of him and as a result the Pokédex Keepers all perished in the ensuing catastrophe."

Dawn was terrified by what she heard. Now she no longer felt anger towards Red, now she felt sympathy for him. "Good grief, wait was it during this time that he used all but one bullet in his pistol?" Dawn asked.

Cynthia answered her, "Red never kept a pistol at all, he found it in the ruins of the city on the island. It was the symbol of Team Galactic on the side of it that let Red know how the dormant volcano awoke. The reason for the one bullet in it was a form of torture for Red, to see if he'll fall to temptation." Cynthia made her hand in the shape of a gun and began to move her fingers towards her temple resembling shooting oneself in the head but stopped herself quickly and continued, "But Red stayed strong, he wanted to save that bullet to avenge his fallen teammates."

Dawn knew what Cynthia meant by that, he was going to ensure that he does not make the mistake of sparing Sird. One part of her understood, but another part of her was nervous at the thought of Red taking someone's life.

None of them had noticed that Red was standing outside of the small circle they had formed to hear Cynthia's story. Only when Pikachu looked up did they see that Red was standing there. Then all six of them looked to see him standing there. He didn't say anything and his facial expression did not change at all.

"I'll sleep in the recliner." Red said. The seven of them prepared for a pleasant night sleep, after three days it would be their first that would be more than three hours and it would be in something other than a tent and a sleeping bag.

Later on that night, everyone was sleeping except for Red who was sitting at the kitchen table with several scrunched up pieces of paper around him. These papers were various strategies to help the team defeat Sird and her machine of malice the next day. Red was both nervous and frustrated with each of his plans. He was not sure what to expect at Sird's base, if the ship was still there then it would be a heavily guarded base and Sird herself would no doubt be there.

Cynthia heard Red's shouts of frustration and entered the kitchen to see what Red was so upset about. Her question was answered when she saw the discarded papers around the table and Red clutching his forehead in his hands.

"Trouble sleeping?" She asked him in a friendly tone. Red looked up at her, his eyes blood shot from being up for hours just staring at different sheets of paper.

"You and I should go there alone, this is not the others fight." Red answered in a whisper as not to wake the others.

"If Sird gets this craft in the air, then it'll become everybody's fight, we'll need everyone's help." Cynthia responded. She knew Red's desperation and she hoped to ease his tension.

"That's true, but I won't let anyone be sacrificed because of any hesitation, not again." Red said.

"Red you showed mercy, compassion is something that is very important in battle, sometimes it's the only thing that separates us from our enemies. Had you killed Sird when she was at your mercy, then you would've become no better than her." Cynthia continued. She began to stand up, before she said one last thing, "Don't fall to her level just to avenge your team."

Red looked at Cynthia and then at the stack of papers in front of him and then back at Cynthia. He knew that there was only one way to stop Sird and there was only one way for it to happen.

"I will do what is right." Red said. With that Cynthia returned to bed and shortly after she did Red collapsed from exhaustion, and fell asleep.


	9. Chapter 8

It was four in the morning; Brock was sleeping on the coffee table in the living room because he was the one who got second to last place on Mario Kart DS. But compared to his experiences in the past, sleeping on rocks and in a tent in the forest, sleeping on a coffee table was like sleeping on a cloud. (Except for the falling through because it's actually vaporized water part.)

Brock was having a fantastic dream about Nurse Joy and Angel Feud Cake when he awoke to the sound of a Charizard roar. The roar of the Pokémon was so powerful that it shook the windows of Cynthia's house and woke everyone in the house and in neighboring homes. The shock from the roar jolted the breeder awake and caused him to fall off the coffee table and land on Ash and Pikachu, the trainer who got last place on Mario Kart DS.

When the three girls (whom all managed to sleep on actual furniture) awoke, the five of them then looked over to Charizard. Red was standing beside him; the Pokémon Master was fully dressed and ready for the day. Once he saw that everyone, human and Pokémon, were awake he began to speak.

"Get dressed, get ready; we storm Team Galactic's fortress in two hours." Red said. Once he was finished talking he walked off into the kitchen.

The five trainers did as they were told, each taking turns to get dressed in the bathroom. To them, just standing up was exhausting labor. But it was even more painful to them to climb the stairs. Not even halfway up the stairs, Brock and May had collapsed and fallen asleep, but they were quickly woken by Squirtle's Water Gun. The shock of the freezing cold water sparked them awake and gave them enough energy to run up the rest of the stairs. Unfortunately, when they got to the top, Dawn was the first in the bathroom, and anybody who has ever met her knows that she will take forever just to get herself ready.

After half an hour, Dawn was out of the bathroom and the other four trainers scrambled over one another to get inside, Misty proved to be the victor. At that same moment, Cynthia was leaving her room when she noticed the kerfuffle unfold before her.

"You know, there's a powder room downstairs and there's my room you guys can use." Cynthia informed, amused by the humorous display.

Hearing her words, Ash and May ran off in two directions just as Brock had fully recovered from the impact of a kick against the back of his head. May managed to get into Cynthia's room while Ash was running down the stairs. Seeing that he had only one option left, Brock began to run down the stairs after Ash who was quickly joined by Pikachu.

As they began to run Brock grabbed a PokéBall out of his pocket and opened to reveal a Crobat that flew out in front of Ash and Pikachu in hopes of distracting them. The Trainer and his best friend managed to avoid the creature and they made it to the powder room Leaving Brock to just stand in the middle of the hallway feeling sorry for himself.

"I have a feeling the writer doesn't like me." Brock said to himself.

At the same time, Red was in the kitchen preparing breakfast while Dawn was sitting at the table just watching him work. The Ultimate Pokémon Master knew she was watching but said nothing. After several minutes of neither one of them talking, Dawn decided to break the silence.

"Why didn't you tell us that Sird killed your friends?" She asked him half heartedly. Red knew it was only a matter of time that one of them would bring it up. With no other options he had to answer her.

"I didn't want you to think that I was asking for sympathy, and I wanted to keep my quarrel with Sird a secret until she was defeated." Red answered. Dawn was getting nervous; she thought Red was implying that he would kill Sird when he confronted her later.

"You can't let your anger get in the way of what is really important right now." Dawn said as she stood up.

"My anger won't change the fact that she took everything that I fought to earn." Red replied, showing signs of growing anger in his voice. Dawn knew she was making him more upset as they spoke, but she hoped that this would stop him from acting out of revenge.

"Sird must answer for what she did, but to a proper justice system not to yours." The Young coordinator continued.

Now Red was upset and he was going to show it. He spun around and began speaking, in a loud aggravated tone to her.

"The most powerful Trainers in the world, are dead, because of Sird! They are gone because I failed to stop her when I knew I had to. We had such promise, we were revered as heroes, we dreamed of seeing the world together. But because of what my mistake, that dream can never come true! You have no idea the suffering I've had to endure for three years! Three years I spent, hating myself because they died and yet Sird got to live. Now I ask you, where is the justice in that?!"

Red was towering over Dawn; his old friend was now just as terrified of him as his enemies were. Dawn was holding onto her Buneary for comfort as though the latter was a teddy bear. Realizing that he was scaring her, Red sat down and began to speak in a softer tone.

"There is no justice in the world. The only true form of justice is vengeance. It's primal, it's barbaric, it's fair."

"It also means that you become no better than the evil you want to stop" Dawn protested, "your anger gives you strength but if you let it, it will kill you."

Before they could finish speaking, the scent of smoke filled the air.

"Chars, is that you again?" Red asked as he turned around to see the smoke billowing from the stove, causing Red to realize he left breakfast unattended.

"The food, it's burning!" Dawn yelled. Acting out of sheer terror Dawn called on Piplup.

"Piplup, use Bubble Beam!" She shouted. Her Penguin Pokémon quickly responded firing bubbles upon bubbles of water at the stove until the smoke stopped coming. At that same moment, Cynthia, Ash and the others ran into the kitchen in response to the smoke detectors going off.

"What happened!" May shouted as she shoved past the others and ran into the kitchen.

She stared I horror at the burnt food sitting on top of the stove as tears began to well up in her eyes. Not even a dead Togepi made her feel as distressing as burnt food. Cynthia looked at Red with an unhappy yet content look on her face.

Fearing Cynthia's wrath Dawn quickly explained herself in a way that sounded believable. "Red threw a book at my head." She explained. Red glared at her, but let it pass.

"Well, we don't have time to make another breakfast; we'll have to get moving without something to eat." Cynthia said.

No breakfast was like a death sentence to May, if there was one thing she loved more than food, it was breakfast. As the seven Pokémon keepers left Cynthia's house May could hear her stomach growling and she was pretty sure she heard it crying as well.

Cynthia led the seven of them around to the back of her house where she had her garage. "Walking to Team Galactic's fortress will take us days, this will be much faster." Cynthia explained. She punched in a number combination on the digital lock on her garage door and It opened up to reveal a silver SUV with all terrain tires and a license plate that said on it "DAQUEEN".

"Oh now you're just showing off." Red said jokingly to his old friend. Ash and Brock were practically drooling at the sight of the vehicle. Never before had they seen such a wonderful automobile marvel.

Misty did not seem all that impressed with the vehicle. "I'll be anything that this thing consumes enough gas to power twelve planes and it only gets thirty miles before needing more." She commented with a scowl on her face.

"That's where you're wrong Misty, this thing is totally electrical, I had it custom built that way myself." Cynthia protested still smiling.

"Enough talking, I want to drive this thing." Brock said as he ran for the driver's seat only to be stopped by his Croagunk's Poison Jab, as the frog like Pokémon rammed its glowing purple fist into his stomach, paralyzing its trainer causing Brock to fall to the ground.

"I'll drive this car." Cynthia said as she stepped over Brock and climbed into the driver's seat.

One by one the six adolescents climbed into the SUV, Red took up a position in the passenger's seat, while Brock and Ash grabbed the two seats directly behind the driver and the passenger's seat. Pikachu took up seating in Ash's lap leaving the back three seats for Misty, May and Dawn. When she saw that everyone else was seated inside, Cynthia pulled the automobile out of the garage and drove it forward, out of Celestic Town and straight for Metagross Mountains, the location of Team Galactic's new fortress, according to Red's Intel.

As the SUV accelerated across the road, Red's mind was racing. Dozens of different thoughts flashed in and out of his subconscious; was his plan going to work? Were they too late? Were the others ready for a fight like this? Will he make the same mistake again that could spell doom for his team? All these questions kept ringing in Red's head. He wasn't sure what to expect from the upcoming battle, but he looked back at the others he could see that they were ready for this fight, as they were talking amongst themselves about how excited they were to battle Team Galactic. Red was proud to see their enthusiasm but as they were talking he knew one thing had to be done. Sird had to be stopped no matter what the cost would be.


	10. Chapter 9

After an hour of driving through the elaborate network that was Metagross Mountains; Cynthia brought the SUV to a slow and smooth stop. "We have arrived." She said. Silently, the six of them climbed out of the SUV, the vehicle was hidden behind a large rock wall as so it couldn't be detected by watching Grunts. They then made a cautious approach to Galactic's Fortress surprisingly, there were no Grunts standing guard outside the fortress.

"Where are they?" May asked as she reached for a PokéBall on her belt, readying to release the powerful Blaziken inside of it.

"Hiding, Grunts are cowards in the face of real enemies, not those Rocket boobs." Red answered. Stealthy, Red made a run for the front gate, once there he took a look around to see if there were no Grunts. When he was sure, he released Squirtle from his PokéBall.

Red looked at his Water Type Pokémon, Squirtle then nodded in response as he knew what he was supposed to do. Slowly Red stretched his hand out for the handle of the door. Nervously the trainer looked at the door, then to Squirtle and then to the other six hiding behind a rock waiting to strike. Red then swung the front door wide open and jumped out as did Squirtle but the two of them were shocked to see that the vast hallway was empty.

"It's all clear." Red called out to the others. One by one the trainers and Cynthia crawled out from behind the rock.

"I don't get it; shouldn't this place be crawling with Grunts?" Ash asked.

"I was thinking the same thing, maybe we're too late" Cynthia responded.

"No, if the airship left the fortress we'd already know." Red answered. "All right, we'll have to leave a few Pokémon here as back up, each of us will leave two here, Cynthia has to be an exception." Red ordered. As told each trainer left two behind; Ash left Staraptor and Bayleef behind, Dawn left Quilava and Mamoswine, Brock left Marshtomp and Forretress, Misty left her Psyduck (with great pleasure) and Politoed, May left her Wartortle and Munchlax behind and Red left Squirtle and Snorlax behind.

"From now on, we stick to the shadows." Cynthia said before the seven of them moved in. the base's lights were still on, but there was no one in the hallways, and no one in any of the rooms that they checked. The awkward silence was starting to intimidate Misty and Brock. But what they saw next would make them stay in the fortress.

As they kept going, Dawn had wandered into a room that said on the wall next to it, "laboratory". Cautiously, Dawn entered expecting to find the technical specifics of the aircraft, but she was dead wrong. The blood curdling shriek alerted the others of her location just as they were beginning to suspect that she was missing. The others ran into the lab only to see Dawn and Piplup standing petrified with terror at the sight of a stasis tube, containing a green slime and the still form of the legendary Pokémon, Celebi.

"We have to get Celebi out of there." Ash declared as he and Pikachu began to reach for the locking mechanism on the stasis tube, only for them to be stopped by Cynthia.

"No, look closer, it's hooked up to life support. Whatever Sird did to it brought it to the brink of death. If any one of us removes it from those tubes it could kill it." Cynthia explained.

"I knew Sird was bound to abduct a rare and powerful Pokémon like this, but I didn't know, she'd be so insane as to almost kill them." Brock commented.

Rage built up in Red. Does Sird's depravity know no limits? Nearly killing a harmless Pokémon was enough to the veteran Trainer.

"I'll take her down, this time no mercy." Ty spoke, as he was talking, he began to clench the pistol he had strapped to his side.

"Why would she take this Pokémon?" Misty asked out of sorrow and horror.

"Because Celebi is capable of travelling through time." Ash began to explain before he was stumped by a question himself. "But why would she almost kill them?"

"She used the craft to drain its power." Red answered. "That means we have to get moving now." Red concluded. With that knowledge it became obvious that it meant that the airship was going to leave the fortress soon. This would also explain why there were no Grunts here; they were at the launch pad.

"We've got to get moving!" May shouted as the seven Trainers ran out of the laboratory, leaving Celebi there, as there was nothing else any of them could do for it. The team of brave heroes began to running in the direction of the launch pad, following the signs along the walls and taking the elevators when needed. (Stairs may've been more dramatic, but it would've been just stupid to take them)

Eventually the seven and their Pokémon allies made it to the launch pad. They were expecting the pad to be crawling with Grunts, as such they each reached for two PokéBalls and readied for battle, only to be surprised even more so, the airship was gone. They were too late.

Anger and sorrow overwhelmed Red all at the same time. No words could ever express the emotions he was feeling at this moment. Everything, all the years he spent planning this one day and he failed. All he could do was yell into the sky, with a loud echo that encircled the entire mountain. At the moment he was finished, the giant television screen behind him came alive and Sird's face appeared behind it.

"There's no need to shout Red." She said. They all turned around at sound of her voice. Seeing Sird's face caused the flame on the end of Char's tail to flare up with rage.

The Galactic leader continued to speak, "You all fell for my trap, I knew you were coming years ago so I had the location of the construction of my airship moved somewhere else."

Ash was the first to step forward and talk back to her. "It doesn't matter where your toy is, we'll find it and we'll destroy it." Pikachu stood beside him with confidence.

"Oh how very wrong you are boy, I'm finished building my craft. And with all of you out of the way, there'll be no one to stop me." Sird responded. After she finished speaking, the television screen turned off and out of nowhere dozens of Grunts surrounded them, and standing in front of them was their commanding officer, Jupiter.

Without saying a word, she grabbed the two PokéBalls on her belt and opened them. "Skuntank, Sableye, attack!" She called out as those two Pokémon lunged out and prepared for battle. May was just as quick to respond with her Pokémon.

"Blaziken, Glaceon, go!" she called as those two Pokémon jumped out from their PokéBalls and readied to fight.

"Skuntank, use Flamethrower!" Jupiter ordered. After finishing her command, Skuntank spewed a stream of fire from its mouth that was heading straight for Glaceon.

"Dodge Glaceon, and use Ice Beam." May called out, as her Ice Type narrowly jumped out of the way of the attack and shot a beam of energy from its mouth that covered the Skuntank's face with ice. But May was not finished.

"Now Blaziken use Mega Kick." He mighty fiery bird Pokémon swung its massive leg out striking the immobilized creature sending it flying over the edge of the launch pad.

"Sableye, attack with Punishment." Jupiter ordered. As the creature was readying to attack, May was quick to respond.

"Blaziken use Flamethrower." She called out. Blaziken then reared up its head and thrust it forward as a jet of flames came flying out striking Sableye and sending him to the ground.

The flames kept coming out of Blaziken's mouth, unfortunately all its attention was on the Sableye, and not on its surroundings. Behind May and her two Pokémon, a Grunt's Golbat was readying to ambush all three of them, it was about to land a powerful hit when Ash spotted it and entered Pikachu in a battle against it.

"Pikachu use Iron Tail." Ash commanded. Pikachu then jumped into the air, his tail glowing with power as he struck it against his Golbat nemesis. The Golbat went spiraling to the ground just as many more Golbats charged into battle.

"Garchomp use Giga Impact." Cynthia ordered.

"Pachirisu, Discharge." Dawn called out.

"Geodude use Mega Punch." Brock exclaimed.

"Staryu use Bubble Beam." Misty commanded.

"Pika, Skull Bash!" Red shouted.

The battle was fierce, both sides fought vigorously but eventually, they managed to take down all but a few of the Galactic Pokémon. Jupiter knew that defeat was going to come to her soon so she had no other choice.

"Grunts retreat." She ordered.

As quickly as she commanded them the Grunts began to jump over the ledge of the launch pad. The seven heroes were shocked to see that they would jump off the ledge, but when they saw that Jupiter was about to jump off the ledge, they knew that there must've been something there for them to safely land on. Jupiter was about to jump but then she stopped and spun around.

"But not before leaving a parting gift." She said as she reached into the pocket on her suit and pulled out a remote control and pushed the only button on it. With the button pushed, she to jumped off the edge.

Ash and Misty were about to run to the edge to see what would catch them but the sound of beeping all around them stopped them. The sound terrified Brock as he knew what it meant.

"It's a bomb; the whole place is going to explode!" He shouted to the others. Calmly Cynthia looked over at Red who was standing next to him.

"I think we should jump too." She recommended.

"Yeah, I agree with you on that one." Red answered.

Ash ran to the edge of the launch pad and whistled very loudly, alerting Staraptor to fly to his location. Meanwhile Chars was standing alongside the trainers, just as May called back all her Pokémon but sent out her Beautifly, Dawn then sent her Togekiss out as Chars stood next to the other flying Pokémon. In no time, Staraptor had arrived.

"We've got to get out of here and we need all you flying types to get us out of here." Ash explained to the five flying types.

Misty then reached a problem, "We don't have enough Flying Pokémon." She explained. Brock realized she was right, if they included his Crobat that he hadn't released yet and Chars who could seat two. That would mean that one of them would stay behind.

Dawn then stepped forward, "You can take my Togekiss, I've got to go back for Celebi." She answered. At that moment, the bombs started to go off.

"There's no time Dawn, we've got to get out of here." Red responded. He began to reach for her to pull her back but she just began to run for the door that led inside.

"I'll be okay, no need to worry." She responded as she ran through the door.

"Every time she says that I always worry." Red said. With no other options, the other six heroes had no choice but to use the Flying Types to fly off the exploding building, Cynthia rode with Red on Chars' back.

The six of them safely landed and reunited with the Pokémon they left outside the base. Quilava and Mamoswine looked at Red and Ash with a worried expression, both worried about what happened to Dawn.

"She ran back inside to save Celebi." Ash answered. Terrified for her safety, Mamoswine stomped toward the burning building and began to use Ice Shard, hoping to bring down the rising flames.

The rest of them released all their Water Type Pokémon and sent them to use their powers to bring down the fires around the building. Unfortunately, the bombs kept exploding and this created more fire.

"We have to keep up the water, for Dawn's sake!" Brock shouted to the others. After half an hour, of constantly using their powers coupled with the intense of heat of the flames, the Water Types were getting tired and their strength had all but left them. The trainers and Cynthia had all but certainly given up, it had been half an hour and there was no sign of Dawn. They had sent small Pokémon into the flames to try and find her, due to their small stature and maneuverability, but the heat and smoke were so extreme that they had to leave after just a few minutes.

Red was the most eager to put out the fires. He wanted his oldest friend to be safe and was willing to do anything to help her.

"I'm going in!" Red shouted, pulling off his trench coat and yanking his scarf over his mouth and nose.

"You're going to get yourself killed if you go in there Red." Cynthia said, placing her hand on his shoulder to stop him. Red jerked his shoulder quickly to get her hand off him.

"I'm not going to give up on her." Red responded. He began to run for the door, which had been blown open by the explosion, and smoke now billowed out of it.

Cynthia stopped him again by running in front of him, "If you go in there, if she's still alive, there's no way that you'll be able to get her out of there before the fort collapses."

"Then what do you suggest?" Red asked her in an infuriated and desperate voice.

Cynthia was heartbroken that she would have to say anything else to stop Red from risking his life. She wasn't going to say it out loud, but she feared the truth, Dawn had died in those flames.


	11. Chapter 10

Fear and sorrow overwhelmed the trainers, despite her fighting; Misty could not hold back the tears that welled up in her eyes. She just fell to her knees and began to sob into her hands. Despite their fighting, they could not save Dawn from the fires that overwhelmed Galactic Fortress. Ash just kneeled down and began to hold his girlfriend in his arms to comfort her. Everyone else fell silent; there was nothing any of them could say that would make this situation any lighter. They had just lost one of their friends, and on the same day of her birth, fourteen years ago.

Red clenched his fists tightly; he wanted to blame Sird for this, but a small part of him believed that this was my fault.

"Sird will pay for what she has done, and so must I." Red uttered under his breath as not to alert the others of his plan. One by one; the six heroes and their Pokémon began to leave the flaming wreckage of the Galactic Fortress behind.

But a sound caught Pikachu's attention; it was the sound of panting. The electric type Pokémon ran back to the fortress, running past Ash who watched him go back. Pika was quick to jump out of his PokéBall and run after Pikachu.

"Pikachu stop!" Ash shouted, but the little yellow mouse refused to listen and charged straight into the smoke. Horror stricken Ash ran back after him, bent on not allowing another one of his friends to die in the same fire.

"Pika wait!' Red shouted to his own Electric Pokémon.

But as quickly as they vanished, Pikachu and Pika reappeared, and they were not alone. Dawn came staggering out of the smoke, violently coughing up the ashes she inhaled in the fires. Her whole body was covered in soot and was mildly red from the intense heat. In her arms she was carrying the still form of Celebi, outside of its stasis tubes. Exhausted, the young coordinator could no longer stand and she fell to her knees, still coughing.

The rest of the team raced over to embrace Dawn for her courage. Red on the other hand was not so pleased.

"You imbecile!" He shouted as he stomped towards her, "You could've gotten yourself killed if you stayed in there for a few more minutes!" as soon as he was towering over her he kneeled down and he hugged her.

"I'm glad you're okay." He finished. As sincere as his show of affection was Dawn was not finding it so endearing,

"I won't be okay unless you let me go." She gagged as Red's grip was just a little too tight. Realizing this, Red quickly let her go.

Piplup and Pachirisu both ran up to her. Piplup as well hugged Dawn but much more gently. Pachirisu showed her affection by using Discharge, electrifying her trainer, causing her hair to stand on end.

"Well, I'm glad to see you to Pachirisu." Dawn said half dazed. As for Cynthia, she was also delighted to see her friend alive, but she to her, this victory was bittersweet.

"You were very brave going back in there, but it was in vain." She said as she checked Celebi.

"I'm not getting a pulse." She continued.

Horror stricken; Pikachu lunged into the air and used Thunderbolt, striking Celebi, hoping that this would jump start its heart again. There was no sign of life. Again and again the electric mouse kept using Thunderbolt to save the Legendary Pokémon, even with the help of Pachirisu and Pika it was to no avail.

They all fell just as silent as the Pokémon they hoped to revive. Dawn ran up to the it, and sat on the dirt ground, her sorrow got the best of her and she began to bawl.

"I'm sorry, I failed but right now, the world needs Pokémon like you." She whimpered. "Please, do something! We need you!" She shouted as she placed her hands on the ground.

As soon as she did she heard a voice say "_Let my will be done", _immediately after that, she began to glow golden. The others were awe struck to see their friend glowing like this. The gold glow soon left her body through her hands and into the ground where the glow encased Celebi in its shimmer. Slowly, Celebi began to stir awake, in seconds, the Time travelling Pokémon began to float feeling good as new. Dawn just stood up, still astounded by what she had accomplished as she stared at the three Pokémon, her mouth hanging ajar. The Pokémon nodded its heads as a show of gratitude and then vanished instantly, leaving the others in a state of shock by what they had seen.

"That was amazing Dawn!" Ash commented as he walked up to her. "Celebi used your love for it to revive itself. I didn't know it could do that."

Cynthia begged to differ, "It wasn't Celebi Ash." She protested.

"What do you mean?" May asked her.

Before Cynthia could answer, the sound of jet engines roared through the air. The seven heroes looked up to see the most bizarre airship ever flying over them. It was huge, far bigger than even Dialga and Palkia, it was almost as big as the mountains that surrounded them. The titanic air vehicle had jagged spikes coming out from all sides, it had a huge crest coming off the top of it, and to Red that was where the Bridge was. The Airship was heading straight for Mt. Coronet, it's quest still a mystery.

"Megarig" Cynthia whispered to herself.

"I've got to go stop that thing from the inside, Sird is piloting it and I'm going to finish her." Red said brimming with sudden self confidence. He had seen two miracles unfold before him today and the joy he felt, fueled him far better than his anger had for the past three years. Red released Chars and was ready to take flight on his back when he was halted by Dawn.

"Red wait, be careful Sird won't exactly be happy to see you."

Red just gave her a small smile and said, "In your words; No need to worry."

As Red ran up to Chars he stopped himself and spun around. "I almost forgot." Red reached into his cape and pulled out a small jewelry case and tossed it to Dawn. "I was going to give it to you tonight at your party, but in case I don't make it." Before Dawn could even open it Red was on Chars' back and flying straight for the ship.

Dawn was shocked, in all the excitement she had forgotten about her birthday, but Red didn't. This made her feel warm and humble. She opened the case to see two earrings each had a diamond and a pearl on it and they were held together by platinum metal. She was gob smacked, these were beautiful to her as she just smiled and put the earrings on as she watched Red soar off.

Red and Chars were getting closer to the ship. Red didn't say a word all he was doing was waiting until Chars had flown close enough. As they closed in, a hatch on the back of the crest on the top opened and hundreds of Golbats came flying out.

"That's my way in, unfortunately you'll have to stay out here Chars." The flaming dragon looked up at his friend in discontent, as he wanted to help his oldest and closest friend defeat his greatest enemy. "I know you want to help big guy, but there's no room in the ship to have a Pokémon battle." Red explained, with that logic Chars couldn't argue with him.

"Besides, those Golbats will be going after the others, so they'll need your help to fend them off." Red continued as Charizard flew straight for the opening in the back of the ship.

Down below, the Trainers and Cynthia were racing to Mt. Coronet via Cynthia's SUV. Following the rural road, the heavy duty vehicle was closing in on the mountain that concealed within it, the key to the power of the divine.

"We'll be there in no time!" Ash shouted with joy from the second row of seats. But his optimism was short lived, as the entire sky was shrouded in darkness. But this was not from clouds it was from a swarm, a swarm of Golbats. The large mouthed bat Pokémon closed in on the silver SUV below. As they closed in Cynthia turned the steering wheel right with great force narrowly avoiding many Golbats closing in. The SUV had turned only to be confronted by more Golbats that were charging right at them. Cynthia turned the vehicle right again and more Golbats charged at them.

The bat Pokémon seemed to be coming from all corners. The Golbats were closing in; as they got closer the area around the SUV grew darker and darker. No matter how fast Cynthia was driving, these creatures seemed to be moving faster than the SUV. Just as they were about to attack the vehicle, a Solar Beam struck a large part of the horde sending them flying in different directions. The Golbats stopped swarming and all looked in the direction the blast came from. Curious as to see what happened, Cynthia stopped the SUV to see what struck the Golbats. The six passengers all looked in various directions until May saw what made the blast "There!" she called to the others.

They saw Ivysaur standing on a rock staring intensely at his winged foes. Luckily he was not alone; Pika, Squirtle, Lapras and Snorlax all walked out from the tree line and stood proudly beside their comrade. The Golbats feared this enemy as they remembered just the power this united force held, but they feared Sird's wrath even more and so attacked.

Chars was closing in on the ship, Red stared at the opening as it began to close and Chars was picking up speed. Carefully Red had determined when Chars got close enough.

"Okay Chars now!" Red commanded as he jumped off the Charizard's back and used his long cape to glide into the ship through the opening. Narrowly, the cape just made it as it closed. Red stumbled a small bit before he finally got his footing as he walked forward through the cargo hold of the ship.

Three Grunts were standing there, with cutlass swords on their belts where PokéBalls would be. The minute they saw him they drew their blades and charged at him. Red dodged the first attacker and swung his elbow into his face knocking him out. The second one thrust his sword forward only for Red to grab his hand and flip the Grunt over his head. The third one swung his sword down at him which Red dodged and swung his leg onto striking the Grunt in his chest with his knee.

With the Grunts defeated, Red grabbed one of their cutlass' and stormed towards the large door at the end of the cargo bay. Through window in it, Red could see Sird, sitting at a control panel. On the panel, Red could make out a computer monitor that said on it "Set time: 65,000,000 B.C."

Sixty five million years ago, a massive meteor collided with Mt. Coronet and sparked an extinction event that wiped out many species of prehistoric Pokémon. Red remembered a professor telling him that it was because of this event that the human race ever appeared on Earth at all.

"Of course, and Celebi is capable of time travelling" Red said to himself as he pieced Sird's plan together, "Use Celebi's power, prevent the meteor from ever hitting Earth and prevent the human race from ever appearing."

This Red had to stop. To make his presence known to Sird, Red swung the door open as loud as he could and stormed into the doorway.

The Galactic commander looked behind her at the sound of movement to see Red staring intensely as her just as Poli was staring at the Golbats. Sird was surprised that her enemy survived the fortress explosion but was hell bent on defeating him this time.

"So you survived the fortress and now you've come to face me and die." Sird inferred arrogantly.

"No, I survived to face you and make you answer for your crimes." Red answered coldly as he held up his cutlass. Sird authoritatively stood up and pulled a sword out of a sheath on the side of her chair and charged at her foe.

At the base of the mountain a clash like no other was raging, Golbats against Trainer Pokémon, in a battle for the fate of the world. Pikachu used Electro Ball several times on many Golbats, Staraptor and Crobat were attacking from high in the sky under the lead of Chars, and Piplup, Corpfish, Lapras and Gyarados ambushed from the large river at the edge of the mountain, and despite her yelling at it, Misty's Psyduck was doing nothing helpful towards the battle.

But it seemed to do nothing to lower their already vast numbers. Misty's Pokémon seemed to be getting weaker as they were constantly exerting themselves and they had taken several nasty hits themselves. Her Staryu was completely drained and collapsed.

"Guys, the battle is tiring our Pokémon! We'll be overwhelmed in minutes!" She called to the others.

"We can't give up now, keep fighting!" Ash responded, shouting over the sound of Pokémon attacks. But he knew the truth, Misty was right; the Golbats would overwhelm them by sheer numbers. It was a primitive tactic but it was effective as they had learned.

On board the battle ship, Red's and Sird's swords clashed together with enough force that each collision generated sparks. Red was doing his best to match Sird's strategy of continually attacking even when Red wasn't looking or ready to attack. Sird was pleased to see that her enemy had not changed her battle plan at all.

"Familiar" Sird commented as she charged straight at Red and pinned him against the wall in the cargo hold with her own body mass. "Don't you have anything new?" Sird asked him mockingly. Unfortunately for her Red was ready to answer.

"How about this!" The Pokémon Master shouted as he swung his head forward and collided his skull against Sird's. The psychotic leader couldn't hold back the shear agony she felt as she jumped back.

Red saw his advantage and charged at Sird, cutlass at the ready. But Sird was quick to recover as she swung her sword up and parried the attack as the swords struck one another with a hard clang that echoed through the ship. This time Sird was taking the battle personally. As the two enemies struck their swords again and again with tremendous force that caused vibrations that wracked each of them and sent them both flying. Red looked over his opponent's shoulder to see that the ship was closing in on Mt. Coronet. It was then that he realized that Sird was only stalling him and the entire ship was sent into auto pilot.

It was now or never, he had to use that bullet and end this battle here and now. Red swung his sword against Sird's with enough force that Sird herself moved with the sword as it went towards the ground as Red then swung his fist upward striking Sird right in the face and sending her tumbling to the ground. Red then pulled the pistol strapped to his belt out just as Sird began to stand up in front of him. The Galactic Commander saw the pistol and recognized it and knew what this moment meant. With no way to avoid being shot, Sird just stood there and braced herself for death.

"Now you lose." Red commented as he cocked the pistol and fired.

The sound of the gunshot echoed out of the ship and into the battle below the mountain. The trainers and even their enemy Golbats looked up at the ship when they heard the sound of the gunshot. Cynthia and Dawn were both too terrified to think about what Red had done.

It was Brock who said what they were all thinking, "He killed her, with that same bullet."

Misty then said what the reader was thinking as she rolled her eyes, "A la Jack Sparrow."

Sird opened her eyes and then inspected her body expecting to see blood pouring out of her chest. She looked up at Red to see that he was still standing there with the pistol pointed outward still smoking. Sird just couldn't believe what had happened.

"You missed." She said in disbelief.

With the knowledge that she was still alive the psychopath charged at her enemy striking him repeatedly in the stomach and chest, with her fist, until Red couldn't stand anymore and collapsed. The insane military commander then kneeled down over her defeated foe leaving one foot on his already throbbing chest. Red let out a large grunt of pain as Sird pushed her knee down harder on his stomach.

At the base of the mountain everyone was still shocked at the thought of Red killing anybody. Misty and Cynthia used the silence as an advantage to call back all the exhausted or wounded Pokémon to their PokéBalls and put them inside the SUV.

"I can't believe that Red, or any Pokémon Trainer would lower themselves to murder for the sake of revenge." Ash said with great anger in his voice.

As they looked up, Dawn noticed something about the ship; it seemed to be tilting downward as it got closer to Spear Pillar. At first she thought that it meant that Sird was getting the device ready to attack, but then she saw smoke coming out of the black spike wings on the side of the ship.

"I don't think Red killed Sird with that bullet." Dawn responded to Ash as she smiled.

Sird smiled; he knew it was over for Red. All these years of planning his revenge and now it was all for nothing, and why, because he missed at the most important moment of his plan.

"For three years you carried that bullet around with you and now of all times you missed." Sird said as she laughed maniacally. Red was not as upset as Sird expected him to be, in fact; despite having lost the battle, failed in his revenge and was now as Sird's mercy; Red was smiling.

"Whoever said that you were my target?" Red answered. The Galactic wacko looked up to see what Red meant by that. His rhetorical question was answered when she saw sparks flying out of the control panel on the ship. This was when she realized the horror; this was his plan the entire time, not to kill Sird with that bullet, but to destroy the ship.

Seeing his opportunity, Red swung his fist up striking Sird in the jaw and causing her to fly back, Red the grabbed onto her shirt with his finger less gloved hands and pulled her forward and flung her to the ground When he was on the ground Red when placed one foot on her hand causing her to drop her sword and placing the other foot on her chest.

With Sird was on the ground Red decided to take advantage of the moment by berating him, "Never lower your eyes from an enemy." Red commented.

Dawn looked up at the ship as it began to fall dangerously close to the side. There was no sign of Red preparing to leave and Dawn was starting to get nervous. She instinctively called out to Red yelling as loud as she could to hi.

"Red get out of there, NOW!" She yelled at the top of her lungs. Even though she knew he couldn't hear her, she felt for some reason that that would work.

Inside of the ship, Sird was now at Red's mercy as the Trainer held his sword over his enemy and the ship was about to crash into the side of the mountain. Sird could see that Red wanted to finish her, but she believed Red was too much of a coward to do so.

"You finally learned to do what's necessary." Sird commended her foe.

Red refused to thrust his sword forward despite the growing voice in his mind that persistently kept yelling at him to do so. Finally after a few moments of thought, Red finally made his decision that would end this battle once and for all.

"I won't kill you." Red said. Sird expected Red to strap hand cuffs on her, but instead he thrust the side of his sword at the controls for the door in the cargo hold the impact left the blade wedged into the side, as it swung open and wind rushed in.

"But I don't have to save you." He finished saying with a smirk. With that Red made a run for the open door. As he jumped out, he used his long cape to glide on the winds rising up.

Sird looked up and out the windshield to see the side of the mountain growing bigger and bigger. Knowing that the end would be very near, Sird just closed his eyes and readied for death.

"Congratulations Red, game set and match."

The ship collided with the side of the mountain and the front of it began to compress inward as the ship tilted to its side and began to slide down the mountain side. Not the side that the trainers were fighting on, luckily. As it did, sparks began to rise up from the metal scarping along the rock of the mountain. A loud scraping noise echoed through the air and it could be heard for miles before the aircraft finally landed on the ground. But it was not over as a stray spark managed to dance its way into a large tear in one of the huge engines the ship then went up in flames as a colossal explosion soon engulfed the entire ship. The boom from the explosion was absolutely massive and the shock wave sent any Pokémon who were close by tumbling. When the fires subsided, they revealed a charred shell of a once dangerous ship that once posed a threat to the entire world.

Ash and Dawn looked up to see Red gliding back down to the ground with the help of his trench coat. Gently he made a perfect landing, right in front of his allies; landing in a squatted position, the Ranger then rose up standing proudly in front of those before him.

"Red, you made it, you're alive!" Ash complimented the hero before him.

Cynthia smiled at him as she stepped toward him and asked the question everyone was asking, "And Sird?"

"Not even she could've survived an explosion like that." Red answered as the expression on his face did not change. The rest of them ran up to congratulate him on defeating Sird once and for all.

Dawn approached him and began to speak to him, "I'm sorry about how I acted to you before"

Before she could finish speaking Red cut her off, "No you had every right to hate me, I fled even though I knew I had to stay for you and I'm the one who's sorry."

Dawn stretched out her arm to shake his hand in a show of good will. As Red placed his hand into hers he quickly pulled his arm back and pulled her towards him and gave her a tight hug, with which Dawn was finding it difficult to breathe yet again but she was happy with the show of affection.

"I promise you, I will never abandon you, ever again." Red promised, "I will always protect you."

As Red set her down she caught a glimpse at the time on her watch. "Oh my gosh, we've only got two hours before my party begins!" she shouted with joy and terror.

"Can we make it in that much time?" Brock asked, publically.

"We'll take my SUV I know a short cut that'll take us to Twinleaf Town much quicker." Cynthia responded. Without a moment's pause the seven of them all piled into Cynthia's car and raced off to Twinleaf Town.


	12. Chapter 11

Only half an hour before the party began, Dawn was bouncing in her seat with excitement and fear. She was excited about what might happen at her party and horrified at the thought of being late. She was always a pessimist when it came to being on time. Her mind was a steal trap, every pore vibrated she was fighting in her seat before finally she couldn't handle the pressure anymore.

"I can't take it anymore!" she shouted so loudly it woke a sleeping May with a sudden jolt. "We'll never make it, Twinleaf is just too far away, this SUV can only take us at a certain speed and that speed isn't enough! It's over there's nothing awaiting me back home except the broken heart of a loving mother." Dawn continued.

"Uh Dawn, we're there." Brock said as he pointed out through the windshield. Looking out Dawn saw that they were in front of her house, and her mother Johanna was waiting for her very excited.

"You had to open your big mouth and ruin the only good scene I had in the picture." Dawn remarked, "I might have won an Academy Award."

Without a second's thought Dawn ran out of the vehicle said hello to her mother and then raced straight inside to change and get ready for the party. One by one each of her friends stepped out of the SUV to greet Johanna. But Dawn's mother was most shocked to see Red again after so many years.

"Red?" She asked in astonishment, "I thought you were trying to become the Pokémon Master."

Red smiled as he stepped forward and answered her, "I succeeded, you don't mind if I return to my house, I need to take care of something."

"Of course you can." Johanna answered with great affection in her voice.

"Which house is yours?" Misty asked Red. The Trainer king stepped out into the street and pointed further down the road to the end of the line of houses.

"That one." He responded. Ash, Misty, May and Brock ran out into the streets to see which house he was referring to. And there they saw it, a huge house with large gardens and a Rolls Royce parked in front of it.

"You live there?" Brock asked completely surprised.

"I have a very rich family." Red answered calmly. With that, Red just began to walk down the road and back to his home, leaving the others to stand in the middle of the street mouthing a gape.

That night, the party was everything Dawn had imagined and more. The party was taking place in the gardens around Red's home. Dawn was wearing an elegant white dress just for the occasion despite her mother saying she didn't have to. Dawn was so excited that she was home, she was interacting with everybody and didn't stay in one place for very long because someone else would get her attention. As she was talking with Misty and Brock, a very familiar voice called out to her.

"Hello Dawn, we haven't seen you in a long time." Dawn turned around to see a woman, just about her own mother's age. Her hair was a medium brown and her eyes were an emerald green. Dawn had not seen her in a very long time, but recognized her immediately.

"Ms. Red" Dawn greeted, "It's been a while, how are you?"

"I've been well" Ms. Red began cheerfully, before her voice turned slightly dark, "Although without Red or his father it's been quite lonely around the house."

"What happened to Red's father?" Brock asked.

"Red doesn't want to talk about it." Misty answered.

Dawn never met Red's father. He disappeared when Red was very young and before Dawn was born. This left Red as the only boy in the house, with no male role model. That would change when the boy learned about Professor Oak. Red would watch all of his television specials and listen to all of his radio shows and would soon become inspired by the accomplished scientist. Dawn suspects that his looking up to the Kanto professor may have been what made him want to begin his journey in the Kanto Region. All the same, Red still has not forgiven his father for abandoning him.

"But I'm glad to see Red back now, but for how long I'm not sure." Ms. Red said smiling.

"If one part of the Red I once knew is still left, then he loves family as much as adventure." Dawn reassured, "Again, thanks for helping my mom set this entire party up."

"Oh don't thank me, Red was the one who wanted us to do this." Ms. Red explained, "He called me a few weeks back and sent me and email with this entire party planned."

Dawn had no idea that Red had any part in this. The thought of her friend being so apologetic that he would plan the biggest party of her life, made her blush.

May was just arriving from the food table with a plate filled with burgers and hot dogs, "Hey has anybody seen Red or Ash?" she asked out loud.

"They're both inside, Red said he had to take care of something." Misty answered. Just as she finished speaking, the sound of a party popper made Misty jump and shriek with shock. She turned around fast to see Ash and Red standing together, with Ash holding a burst party popper. Misty wasted no time in chasing down Ash.

Red was wearing an elegant black tuxedo with a red rose in the breast pocket. Dawn was not as surprised to see him dressed so formally as she would've like to be. At that moment, a slow song started to play on the DJ system.

"May I have this dance?" Red asked Dawn as he held out his hand.

"Umm, of course." Dawn answered as she took his hand and the two of them began to waltz together.

The two friends were dancing to the beat of the song. Dawn was amazed by how well a dancer Red was, as Red was with Dawn. She looked deep into his eyes and saw that the anger, hatred and rage he felt was gone. She saw that the boy she once knew, was back.

"I would be honored if you would let me accompany you and the others." Red said silently to Dawn.

"I'm sure that Ash would love to have his hero around." Dawn said, "May's had hearts in her eyes since you arrived and I'm pretty sure that you've earned Misty and Brock's trust."

"Well what about you?" Red asked her. Dawn seemed not to have an answer but after a few seconds she answered him.

"No need to worry, Pokémon Master."

With that the two continued their dance under the light of a full moon, even after the song had ended. Red was satisfied knowing he had finally left one dark chapter in his life behind in favor of a new one along great friends. But as one dark chapter closes another even darker one was about to open.

On the other side of the gardens Cynthia and Johanna were having a conversation that would trigger the start of something new.

"Your daughter is among one of the bravest and noblest Trainers I've ever met." Cynthia complemented

"That may be true, but I do not subscribe to the idea of Dawn jumping into a flaming building as you told me." Johanna noted.

"Unfortunately that won't be the end of her perils." Cynthia stated.

Johanna was curious as to what she meant. "What do you mean?"

Cynthia regretted to tell her the truth but felt she had no choice, "Something else is coming, something far worse than anything human and your daughter may be the only one who can stop it, I've seen it."

Johanna hated to send her daughter into anything dangerous, but she knew the risks as well and knew this was meant to happen someday, since her birth.

"She's not ready for this." Johanna explained, fearfully.

"The road is long, she'll have her friends and plenty of time to learn." Cynthia explained. "Tell her to tomorrow morning that I want to see her at Celestic Town." To lighten the mood Cynthia added onto her comment, "She'll have quite the story to tell when she comes back."

Johanna looked at the Pokémon champion with eyes filled with hope. "Can you promise that my daughter will come back?" she asked.

Cynthia had only one thing to say, "No, but if she does come back, she will not be the same. For now, I say we enjoy this day while it lasts."

Johanna smiled, Cynthia was right; tomorrow Dawn would begin a journey into the heart of darkness and evil. A journey filled beyond anything she has ever experienced, filled with powerful Pokémon and ancient evil forces and a legend forgotten to all but a few who still have faith.

But for today it would be wise for them to just enjoy her daughter's fourteenth birthday. "I agree, come on we're about to cut the cake." She said.


End file.
